Winter is a lovely season, when Christmas spirit is floating everywhere, crispy air makes you daydream about the snow and cozy evenings near the fireplace and… you should get ready for your finals. Nobody can help you to stay calm, but here are some tips of planning your preparation in the most productive way. 
You should find answers to four questions:
- What should you learn?
Try to choose the main points you should focus on. These points depend on your teacher/professor and the subject. For example, does your history teacher make you remember the dates and names or requires a deep understanding of all the processes? If it is math, concentrate on formulas and their explanation. Prepare all the materials you need, find the data on the Internet in advance.
- What is the best way of learning it?
Are you planning to go to the library and study alone or you have decided to get ready together with your friends? Keep in mind, that it is more efficient to go through the answers by yourself, and then ask somebody else to help you with the tough questions. If you work this way together with somebody, you will be able to revise the material better while explaining what your friend didn’t understand. At the same time, they can help you with the points you didn’t get.
- What can you do with a limited time?
It is normal, that when you need to get ready to the exam, the entire world keeps distracting you. You suddenly remember you need to give a computer game back to your cousin. You notice that your room is dirty, your dog wants to go out and you ran out of milk. The air never seems sweeter and the movies never seem more interesting, than when you need to study. Keep in mind, that you have only a couple of days to remember everything. If you keep on thinking, that it is enough, you are likely to find yourself awake at 2 A.M before the exam and trying at least to look through the material.
- How to remember everything?
The most productive way to remember everything is to base it on what you already know. Don’t try to learn all the definitions by heart – your goal is to understand them and be able to explain with your own words. When it comes to dates and formulas, try to make up an association or compose a sentence that will start with the symbols you need to remember in a correct order.
Additional tips:
- Let yourself have a rest. You will never be able to remember everything at once, so divide it into parts and have a short rest between working on them.
- Eat. Your brain requires a lot of calories to remember everything, so help it and give it the fuel for it.
- Have a good sleep before the exam. If you are tired and sleepy, it will be harder for you to remember anything you have learned and concentrate on the task.
